


A Fateful Night

by Rachel_Lu



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, Bars, Destiny, F/M, Fluff, Love at First Sight, Meet-Cute, Taverns
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-20
Updated: 2018-04-24
Packaged: 2019-04-25 06:11:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,432
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14372604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rachel_Lu/pseuds/Rachel_Lu
Summary: Lord John Noble goes out to a tavern with his friend Jack after finding out about what will be his marriage of convenience, but does not think about the fact that he might find a startling perfect woman there.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is basically a little bit of fluff I needed to write because I needed to write where my characters could SEE. Anyway, ahem. I hope you enjoy!

 

An engagement of convenience was one that Lord John Noble knew he would be forced into from a young age. He just did not expect it so soon.  The lady he was engaged to was not interested in him, nor was he interested in her. It was painful, really, so his friend Jack had encouraged him to get out and go to a tavern, hiding his identity for one night. 

However, he forgot to take off his signet ring.

When they got to the tavern, the night was already in full swing, and people were dancing and laughing uproariously.  Jack went in search of drinks but John stayed put, frozen in place by a captivating sight before him.

A woman was dancing alone on a table, her skirts scandalously high above her ankle.  Blond hair had dropped out from the topknot she wore and her smile was as bright as any star.  He was taken aback by her and stopped dead in his tracks, staring up at her. She must have felt him looking at her and their eyes met.  

She winked at him and turned back to keep dancing.  He felt the inexplicable urge to climb on the table after her and dance with her.  Instead, he shook himself and followed to where Jack was sitting with two mugs of ale.  He handed one to John and he sat down on one of the stools, Jack following suit.

“Jack, you frequent this tavern, do you not?” John asked, still staring at the girl.

“Yes.”

“Who… Who is she?”  John pointed for just a moment, not wanting her to see him.  Jack turned to look and laughed when he saw where John was looking.

“That, dear sir, is Miss Rose Tyler. Do not hold your breath, she has not found a man capable of holding her down, myself included!”

John forced a smile and looked back to his his drink.  

Jack nudged his shoulder. “Well, that should not stop you from dancing with her.”

“She would not want to dance with me,” John said glumly.  He would be wrong, however, as several minutes and half a drink later, he felt a tap on his shoulder.  He turned over his shoulder and his jaw nearly dropped.

The woman from the table was standing behind him.  Sweat glistened on her chest and she stood with her hands on her hips, smiling at him. 

“I saw you staring at me,” she said simply.  “So, are you going to tell me your name or am I supposed to beg?”

Jack choked on his drink and John flushed scarlet.

“I- I have no name, tonight,” he said, not wanting her to find out who he was.  He just wanted to live a normal life for a night. A night where he could flirt with a lovely girl and pretend like he had a chance with her.  

She sat down on the stool next to him and took a surprisingly dainty sip of his drink.  “Well, I can tell you my name. It’s Rose Tyler,” She put out her hand and he took it, kissing the back of it without thinking. He was surprised to see a gentle blush color her cheeks, and she pulled her hand back, a little timid. 

“Rose Tyler.  It’s a lovely name.”

“Thank you.”  She said. “Perhaps you should come dance with me, then.”

“Well, if you would like to,” he said, “I wouldn’t want to make you.”

She took another sip of his drink, making his stomach drop at the sight of her lips where his had been.  She got to her feet and fluffed her skirts out. “Come on then, let’s dance, if you do not mind leaving your friend.”

John looked to Jack, who stared back at him as though there was not even a question, of  _ course  _ he was to go with a pretty girl. 

“I don’t know how to dance,” John finally said lamely.  

“I will teach you!” She cried, tugging on his arm.  He went with her, letting her pull him up onto the table she had been dancing on. She took his hand and placed it on her waist, leading him into a quick waltz like dance.  John found himself dancing and laughing with her, growing quite fond of dancing with her. 

She was great fun, he learned. She sang at the tavern sometimes, she said, which was why everyone knew her, but she was a seamstress at her mother’s shop in the daytime.  She was lovely, he acknowledged, watching her talk about her passions. 

Jack had found someone to dance with, and so John worried little about him when Rose pulled John from the tavern to get some fresh air, he did not resist.

“You looked as though you were about to faint,” She said, laughing breathlessly, “And I wanted to speak with you.”

John arched an eyebrow at her. “What?”

“I wish to know more about you,” She said, suddenly timid.  “I have enjoyed dancing with you, but I know nothing about you except that you are kind with a quick wit.”

John smiled, reaching forward to take her hands. “Rose, I would love to spend more time with you, but I have a destiny to fulfill.”

“Is it one you wish to have?”

“Well… No.”

“Then it is not your destiny,” She said, squeezing his hand. “Come!  Run away. You could live in the extra room above my mother’s shop. You are trapped, sir, I can see it in your eyes.”

He thought for a moment. There was not much for him at home.  Especially not with his future decided for him. “Or…” he said softly, “We could both run away.  We could go traveling together.”

She giggled. “Only if you stay with my mother and I for a bit first, so we know you are the right sort of man.”

He grinned at her and got an idea.  He twisted off his signet ring, suddenly glad he had it with him, and settled it in her palm.  “I will return tomorrow night with a bag of my things. I cannot live on just the clothes on my back.  Hold onto this until my return.”

She closed her fingers around the red ring.  “I will,’ she said. “Kiss me before you go?”

He obliged her quickly, leaning down and kissing her softly, feeling like he needed to to seal whatever deal they had put in place.  Jack was exiting the tavern when things between them were just starting to grow warm. He cleared his throat and they pulled apart from each other. 

“I’ll let you two say goodbye,” he winked, “But John, we should be getting back.”

John nodded, and turned back to Rose once Jack was gone. She was staring at him in awe.  

“You are Lord John Noble,” she said softly.

His heart sank, but he nodded. “Yes.  I am.”

She suddenly looked incredibly insecure and looked away from him. “But- Why would you want to be with someone like me?”

He smiled and framed her face in his hands.  “Because you are exactly like you.”

She lunged up and kissed him again, once- quickly, and pulled back, grinning up at him.  “I am fully charmed by you, John Noble, and I will wait for you tomorrow.”

It was hard to leave her, but he headed back to Jack and his knowing smile, knowing that he would see the girl of his dreams tomorrow.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all wanted a chapter 2 but I couldn't seem to drag it out to my usual 2000 words so here's a little drabble ending for you!

John snuck out of the estate again the next night, this time with a bag of clothes and other necessities.  Jack met him at the front gate, nearly vibrating with excitement at what John was going to do. He was practically skipping next to him, offering to hold his bag and generally getting carried away.

“I never thought, John!” Jack cried excitedly, “Always thought it was me who would do something like this.”

John rolled his eyes. “I am not convinced that you will not do something like this,” he said.  “Come on, now, I do not wish to get caught.”

The two of them reached the tavern quite quickly, and found that Rose was not there yet.  John frowned, wondering if she was coming at all. He suddenly felt like a fool, holding a bag and waiting for his whole life to begin.  

Jack saw the expression on his face and frowned. “John, She is coming.  I promise.”

John hung his head, his fringe hanging into his eyes. “I can only hope.  I do not know why I am so attached to her.”

“Because she is wonderful,” Jack said simply, “And she is someone who you can be yourself with, which is not something you can do very often, is it?”

John sighed and shook his head, acknowledging that this was true.  He had felt a connection with Rose that he had never felt with another woman and it struck him in his gut.  He fiddled with the mug of ale on the counter that Jack had fetched for him, waiting for Rose to come. 

It took several minutes, but finally Rose arrived, coming into the tavern with a smile on her face.  SHe wore dark clothes, dark purples and blues, and John realized that she must be ready to sneak away under the cover of night.

“I was worried you might not come,” John admitted when he got to his feet.

“And why were you worried about that?”

“I was… Worried,” he admitted lamely, looking down.  “Worried that you might decide that you might not want to be with me after all.”

She laughed, a light tinkling sound that played through the tavern and made John’s heart soar.  Shaking her head, she stepped closer to him. “My dear John, I do believe that this is completely fate.  We must be meant to be together, the way I feel for you. Shall we dance and celebrate a bit before we go?”

John nodded without thinking and turned to Jack, realizing he was about to leave his friend again. Jack laughed and lifted his glass in a toast to them. “Go on, you two!” he said cheerfully.  “I am going to find someone, do not worry about it.”

John held out his hand for Rose then, and she took it, beaming up at him with that absolutely wonderful smile of hers.  She was so alight with energy, and when John took her into his arms, he realized there would never be anyone who fit with him like she did.

“Where is my ring?” He joked, tugging at her waist to pull her against him as they flew across the floor. 

Her smile was mischievous in response and she took her hand from his, reaching into her top to remove his signet ring on a chain.  His mouth fell open at the implications of where it had been, but quickly snapped his jaw shut. 

“Very clever,” he purred, bending his head close to hers. 

She giggled, stowing the ring away once more so that no one would see it, and placed her hand in his again.  “I should think so! It has been quite exciting, carrying around this trinket of yours all day.”

“Keep it,” he told her on instinct, wanting her to keep his ring exactly where she had it, hidden away in her breast.  “I would like you to keep it forever, if you would like it.”

“Forever?  You have made quite the commitment to me already, John.”

He smiled and nodded. “I said we would travel together.  I wish… Rose, I do not think I believed in love at first sight until I laid my eyes on you. You are remarkable and wonderful and I should like to have you with me forever.  I surprise  _ myself  _ when I say that.”

She laughed, tipping her head back, and pulled him into the dance, showing him how to move his feet, getting him in step with her. It was not easy, and he tripped over his feet and hers, but she did not mind, instead was quite happy to have him with her, to have him holding her.  

She had been approached by men at the tavern, and in other situations as well.  But this was so dramatically different. This man drew her, was not after anything but love, and she thought that made him so wonderful that she could just hug him until neither of them could breathe anymore.  He had kindness in his eyes, and warmth in his smile. 

She wished she could kiss him, but people would certainly talk if they knew what the two of them were doing.  Attention drawn to John would be a terrible idea, considering his station, and she hardly wanted to get him in trouble before she got to take him home with her.  

Hours passed, and they drank and danced until finally it was time to go.  John caught Jack to leave.

“You will come visit us?” Rose asked hopefully, “Perhaps you can even come traveling with us, once we-” She blushed.  “I believe I hope too much from this relationship.”

John shook his head.  “You do not hope too much,” he said, and Jack beamed at the both of them.

“Just because it has moved quickly does not mean that any of this is any less real.”  Jack lifted his hands, “This is real, I can feel it, so much. So I do want the both of you to be happy, but John, I do not looking forward to telling your parents where you have gone!”

John laughed, and the two men shook hands.  Jack bid Rose goodbye as well, giving the back of her knuckles a kiss, before the couple left, John’s bag with them.

They knew what they were doing, knew how serious it was, and what this meant.  John would not inherit his title, but he did have plenty of schooling, and could make a living.  He looked down at Rose, walking next to him, swinging their hands. 

“I am very fond of you, Rose.”

“I am very fond of you, John.”

He bent down to kiss her, and Rose wrapped her free arm around him, tugging him closer against her in a way that made it clear what her intentions were with him.  

In the doorway of the tavern, Jack stood, his shoulder against the jam, foot crossed over ankle.  It would be a long while before they believed in fairy godparents, and Jack was certainly not a fairy, but… He did consider it his job to make sure those two were happy.


End file.
